That I may know

That I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection. Phil.3:10

But none honors God like the thirst of desire,
Nor possesses the heart so completely with Him;
For it burns the world out with the swift ease of fire,
And fills life with good works till it runs o'er the brim.
                                                             Faber

Frederick William Faber

1814-1863

Having not seen

Whom having not seen, ye love.  I Peter 1:8

"The trust we put in God honors Him much, and draws down great graces. It is impossible not only that God should deceive, but also that He should long let a soul suffer which is perfectly resigned to Him, and resolved to endure everything for His sake."  Nicholas Herman.

Nicolas Herman or Brother Lawrence of the Resurrection
Born 1614 Died 1691
Author of The Practice of the Presence of God

 

He that loveth not

He that loveth not know not God, for God is love. John 4:8.

Love is the main principle of Christian life. Herein consists Christian liberty: a Christian is freed from the law, yet he does what the law requires, and more, because his obedience is not of the letter but of the spirit.  Thomas Chalmers

1780-1847

So much as to eat

Jesus said, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest awhile: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat.  Mark 6:31.

God loves to be longed for, He longs to be sought, He died for desire of us,---marvelous thought!
And He yearns for us now to be with Him above.  Faber.

We were on our way to the Bonefish Grill to celebrate the 97th birthday of Helena Powers. Melanie was driving, I was in the passenger seat, Jordon in the back seat. The Camry pulled up to the Archer exit and the light was yellow. Jordon said, Run it,Mom! Mom stopped. To our left was the man with the sign, Hungry, Need Food. Melanie fished for her purse as the light turned. We sped on.
In our silence we pondered the man at the corner, hungry, as we went toward the restaurant.
We speculated on him. Probably a drunk, probably not really homeless, etc.
To no avail. The Holy Spirit had already pricked at the run the light! And thus, into our leisure we went, not into a desert, but into an oasis of plenty.
And where did the man with the sign wind up tonight?

Mr Adams here?

And the final tenth place honorable mention for the night goes to Ansel Adams for Half Dome, Yosmite. Is Mr Adams here? Accepting the Mo's gift card on his behalf is John Stokes.

As Found

One of the most interesting aspects of my job walking and riding all over the town and county, are the unexpected scenes I stumble upon. Nothing usually escapes my eye, as I am constantly in scan mode for any photographic opportunity. I especially like to come upon where children have been, their chalk drawings on the sidewalks,walls, the way they leave their toys askew. Such were these two Barbie dolls left in this provocative pose, I am sure randomly.
And who was playing? Little Ken? The dolls are quite inviting to little adolescent eyes, and I am sure, post adolescent eyes as well.

Squawk all you want...

The morning from eight until ten was spent on the dike at Alligator Lake Park. It was cold enough for gloves, of which I had, even though I was in shorts and a sweatshirt. I took the D40 today with the old manual 180mm 2.8 lens with the TC-201 tele-converter attached. I had the Gitzo monopod along for stability. I set all the shots to f8 at 200 with manual focus. After 129 exposures, perhaps one was acceptable. On the Canon S100 I had along for the wide-angle shots, zero were accepable out of the thirty or so. I had hoped to see the white pelicans, but only two flew overhead. The eagle and osprey came relatively close, but my focus was off on them all. Deleted.
So, every day is certainly not a winning day. Just like last evening, more often than winning, we lose. Its the getting back up and getting out I suppose that counts. Sit home and stew, or get out and try again, and again. I was thinking, possibly by the end of this life I shall attain that day where all the shots are keepers. I highly doubt it, but it keeps me keeping on.

Mizpah

Hebrews 12:2
Looking unto Jesus.

"If you would be miserable, look within. If you would be distracted, look around. If you would be happy, look up."

From the 1882 Devotional book by Charles Cullis.

Today I am going to attempt to resume the daily re-posting of this gem of a devotional, with quotes from Saints of old, some we know, many not. Mizpah or Golden Days, harkens to Genesis 31:49.
"Mizpah, for he said,the Lord watch between me and thee, when we are absent from another."

Last evening at the Art League show, again my entries went without award. From the disappointment of not garnering the praise of men, it led to further introspection. It was not a pretty picture to see the darkness of the heart, the heart that continues to crave praise from men.
To come to the point of being joyful in others success, to not attempt always to heap the praise our way, to attain a heart for others.
Not there yet, but the Holy Spirit continues to chip away.

Art League Show

I had entered two photographs into the annual North Florida Art League Membership show. One was taken just last week on Triple Run, a photograph of cows in a field. The other was of Nathaniel at the beach with three gulls. I printed them myself 8x10 with a simple 11x14 black frame and white single bevel mat. I had to rush to get the entries to the college after my route on Wednesday. The show was tonight. On entering, Jeanne VanArsdale, the President said, I am glad you came, I almost called to be sure you came. That meant usually that I was one of the prize winners. Amber,Jordon and Nathaniel were along, so we anxiously waited. As the awards in photography were called, they got down to about the third honorable mention and my name was never called. On the way out, Jeanne said congratulations, I said, I didn't win, you must have mixed me up for the first place winner, which she had. I suppose we all look alike.
It was another disappointment, but again, bearing witness to the need for presentation and flair.
The winning photograph was painterly, printed on canvas. It was large. It looked artsy.
As I am now pondering the need to improve upon technique, quality and presentation, I am likewise pondering going into another medium, say printmaking, that no one is doing.
That way, I could relegate photography to the enjoyable realm, not having to keep up with the latest. With printmaking, once I get the press and the papers, ect. I am set. The medium and the equipment are the same as Rembrandt used. Timeless.

Round and Round

 

First Rainbow of thirteen

It had been raining lightly for over an hour, overcast for most of the day. We had just returned from getting Rocky the dog from the groomers, Pet Spot and then to Ken's for BBQ with Jordon. I had just completed eating the chicken and beef when the sun came out. I knew there would be a rainbow. I grabbed the Canon 100 and made it to the roof in time to capture the first rainbow of 2013.
I was likewise able to film the rainbow in a 360 degree sweep from the roof. I came back in and showed Melanie and Meme the shot on the camera. They exclaimed, WOW, where was that? Uhhh, just behind you outside the window. HA.

AN

AN here's your sign.